Who: Vincent Valentine, Kail Nurah, Irvine Kinneas, Laguna Loire, Moja, Raine Leonhart, (and Starring Lucrecia and Raine as the 'Zombies' and the Sludge Monster from Hell).
Where: MD level of Balamb Garden
Why: Well, they managed to rescue some of the missing people, but not all and then there's that pesky sludge monster who started it all to deal with.
Date of Log:  8/15/00

        SeeD teams have been working around the clock. And now, for the most part, the attacks of the various slime coated minions have halted. There was much cleared. Oddly, few died on the attacker's side - perhaps the fact remained that throughout it all, the defenders still had the desire to save as many bodies as possible to fill up their missing ranks. What was dead... is now totally dead. What was living, was rescued, as much as possible. Still, three of the noted people on the recent list have not turned up. Moja, Raine, and Squall naturally. This, and the fact that the source of the occurences remains intact, have driven this final wedge into the territory of the creatures. A team of eight - three SeeD, two carrying detenators and explosives, one a flamethrower. Vincent, Laguna, Sandra, Irvine, Kail... That's eight.
        The halls have grown progressively slimer as the room the creature exists in is finally approached. A small alcove just before that door, wherein Vincent calls for a halt, a last check of equipment, headcount, and any words that may be spoken at this point. Vincent is quietly stern, and has not changed much since his own lady interest has been brought out and turned over to the medical teams. The treatments that were pulled over seemed to work - though those rescued will be bedridden a few days or so, they'll eventually recover. Many others weren't so lucky - having been so undernourished that they died shortly after being rescued, despite what could be done for them.

        Understandably, the smell would have long since overpowered the team... but once more, they have been issued masks and oxygen for the duration. Vincent looks over the gathering once, and speaks, "Our duty is to cover the three man team as they take care of the source. The explosives they carry have a low blast radius, but it will be imperitive that we remove ourselves, and those that can be saved, from the room before detonation. Beyond, there is nothing critical to Garden's workings. An old storage area that has been empty since before this building was bought by Headmaster Cid Kramer." Which is likely why it was so convienent to... whatever. Vincent pauses now and drops his attention to checking his own equipment. A powerful handgun, one of lesser power, and the ammunition for both. He keeps half an ear open in case his attention is needed again.

Even with the littered and decaying corpses that rest within the hallways, there still are more of the creatures, told by the rasp and harsh breathing of those that continue living within the slime covered goop. They on the whole have retreated, called int by the creature that they occasionally rest within for its food. A dozen or so remain, eerie shadows within masses of slime.... but it seems the stronger of those that had been taken are the ones being held behind, though a few that once passsed for human, as well as a few creatures that wandered too close as sent to the forefront. Instead of charging, the way they had in that failed attempt from before, they wait, perhaps willing to surround the entering team... or maybe as a last resort of a creature that's had its troops decimated.

Kail looks around a bit at the strange surroundings, looking pensive...well, he would look pensive save for the mask over his face. His hands clench and unclench as he looks around, eyes warily glancing towards the shadows in the room, areas of slime...perhaps searching for a certain outline within them. Or perhaps just thinking something along the lines of "Stupid slime. Why not something original?" Of course, criticizing monsters for originality -is- rather stupid, but that's beside the point...pulling out his tonfas, Kail smoothly connects them together as his staff and lets an end drop to rest on the ground.

And yet again, here they go, traipsing through the muck and slime to hopefully locate and destroy whatever creature is killing the residents of Balamb Garden, or turning them into Slimed Zombies From Hell. Irvine Kinneas wasn't about to miss out on this, not after the way Selphie looked last night before being Esuna'd and Cured. The Valiant is held at the ready, loaded and more then ready for his trigger happy temper. He's relieved that his little wonder in yellow is safe, and able to be rescued, but he's more then ticked off about the number of people unable to be aided, some of whom had been friends and aquaintences. He keeps in with the group silently, already accustomed to the slickness of the slime coated floors. It's like something out of 'Aliens', when Ripley walks into the nesting lair.

Once again, the man with a machine gun enters this slime infested hole. It would be expected to keep an -extra- eye out for anything unusual, as the lesson was learned from the previous exhibition. The mask rests over Laguna's face in a freaky, too familiar way. Everything seems natural now, but still scary in it's sort of way. And of course, he's back for the same reason as last time. Even more paranoid at what has already happened or what may still be in store for his loved ones. With his gun drawn and leveled, he follows those ahead of him with caution.

Moja, covered in that creepy, icky slime, is guarding the massive puddle of goo that started this whole infernal mess. A low, gurling hiss rumbles out of her throat as she surveys the room. With a lash of her tail she inhales sharply, hissing louder, a bit of smoke waifting out of her nostrils whenever she manages to get them clear of the goo. Her wings, mucked down and useless for flight, hang at her sides, dragging along the floor when she walks. Letting out a snort of impatience she tries to sniff the air, but the muck covering her face causes this to be somewhat...difficult.

Walking serenely, and just a bit slower than usual, in the rear of the insurgency team is Sandra. Her hands are out, still trying to keep her balance, and she definitely looks a bit irritated at the necessity. She says nothing however, already having said her piece upstairs. Now she enters without complaint. She looks up, though, and upon viewing the dark shadow that is Moja, her eyes widen and she looks at her with alarm. Her lips press firmly together in anger, and she shoots a look at the back on Vincent's head.

Being that Moja is the first to be noticed...soon three other figures come into view as well. One of the guard dogs from the night previously pads past Moja and walks past her in the direction of where the intruders are coming from and snarls but doesn't look like it's interested in attacking them...yet. The other two figures are cadets, or at least were at one point. Slime coated and calluses on almost any exposed flesh and both looking just a little more than skin and bones from the malnutrition both have apparently suffered. They seem to be off beside Moja as back up...if needed...since Moja seems to look like enough to deal with if you wanted to get to the puddle she's guarding.

One might argue that all things have been repeated so often... who's to say what's original anymore? Certainly, the monsters don't care for such a human social stigmatism. So, slime monsters from the MD Level it is. Vincent looks up, glancing back toward Sandra, then toward the room itself. He motions to the flamethrower wielder, who nods and steps forward into the area first. To make certain that the immediate entry itself is clear, with three quick bursts from the flamethrower. And then Vincent moves in, signalling the others to follow and take up position before there is too much action on the part of the defenders. The explosives team wait patiently near the entrance for their chance and signal from the flamethrower.

Inside, as has been hinted at before, now revealed - about twelve figures move about, either upon bare floor, or wading in a hollowed dip filled with the dark sludge that has so recently been noted upon the creatures, and the recently rescued. Humans, grats, several of the creatures that live 'normally' in the MD bowels... and perhaps a few kidnapped students and visitors? That remains to be seen. TO the pool itself, it is uncertain how deep it is, though the few human figures that seem to be wading through are almost to chest-deep at most points. - but width and length, it is about 25 feet. Toward the center, it seems slightly darker. Deeper, or... something else?

Kail's staff twirls in his hands as he moves, spinning like it were a baton. He's only held his weapon this loosely once before, in the Atrium a few days ago...trying not to dwell on that, Kail finishes looking around and does indeed spot that certain face. Outline, even; the face is covered with goo and the sight makes Kail stop for a second. Staring almost sadly, his hand lowers, staff resting at his side...but a moment later his expression hardens into a look of disgust, and he glances at the slime all around the room once with a glare before setting off immediately after his teammates, staff spinning in his hand once again.

No, nothing hardly original anymore, though the more effective things that the creatures have been using on individuals has been wholly ineffective upon this large group. So, instead a new tatic is taken by some of the more dead of the shuffling masses of slime.... they take a partner. Literally a living shield of sorts, as the three of the taken SeeD team are paired up with creatures and former people so atrophied to say that they are dead within that mass of quivering goo would be an understatement. And there's no waiting once the first few people step inside form this first wave, a bold, if almost defiant move made by the creature that rests within the pool, as if to see just how far the rescue time is willing to go to 'save' those few that are worth the effort, in order to get to it.

Yeah, Irvine's caught sight of Moja too, a lump of guilt lodging briefly in his throat after remembering what he'd accused her of in his ignorance. It doesn't last long, however, before he remembers the candle, mentally staring into the flame to draw himself into the void. No more emotions, just the raw firepower meant to be pointed in the right direction. From this detached vantage, he moves forward at Vincent's command, staring at the wall of semi-healthy SeeD before the rather dead blobs of flesh, slime and bone. Very clever. He raises the Valiant to take aim, finger on the trigger, but doesn't fire yet, awaiting the go-ahead from Vincent.

All the creatures and people down in this area are noted by Laguna too. The wall that's formed is a bit tricky and puts him in a great dilemma. He advances as well, but refrains from firing until the order is given. Taking the position of kneeling next to Irvine, he sits quiet and ponders the fate of some of the SeeDs that can be saved and the unfortunate ones that can't. Sacrifices, sacrifices...

Moja snorts and glares towards the people entering, muck-covered eyes narrowing, as her body starts to....ripple. Yes, ripple. Oh, don't forget to add in the massive size increase she seems to just have gotten. For Moja is no longer the human-shaped wad of goo she just was. Oh no. She's now a 30 foot long dragon, with wings and all, dripping the black substance from her serrated fangs. With a gurgly bellowing roar she whips her tail around, smoke drifting from her nostrils as the wings on her back twitch and move.

Sandra's expression of worry and anger multiply when she sees Moja's dragon form emerge. Special attention is paid to the smoke emanating from between her swordlike teeth, and without much else to do, begins to move several paces back from the rear of the party, staying away from everyone else, but nevertheless leaving the line of SeeD between her and the slime creatures. She moves back into a staight, tall stance...a sort of casual one, though her intense gaze looks anything but casual, as sparkles and rings of white light begin to slowly coalesce on her loosely outstretched palm, to one side of her. Her words upstairs, that she would only interfere should she deem it necessary, seem to have been thrown to the wind.

As Moja changes, her tail whips about, actually knocking over a few people that had begun to pull themselves from the pool of sludge to ready themselves to become part the human shield. Those that went unharmed continue to shuffle and wait in a tactful manner...waiting until the first wave is taken out or endangered. The last remaining figures in the pool are difficult to make out by those just entering still. Especially with that big dragon and all being as distracting as a dragon usually is. o.o

Shapeshifter... Isn't that what just figures? Obviously, Vincent's attention is shifted away from the shield and to the forming dragon. "Move." He orders as the shifting begins to occur to an obvious size increase. Obviously, if the dragon's facing one way, and it'd be a damned good idea to get /out/ of it. The room is small. The pool takes up a good half of its center in all directions. The dragon itself is rather large, and the room another ten or twenty feet beyond that, maybe. "Use the flamethrower if nescessary, but get around that wall." he calls to the three man SeeD team as he follows his own suggestion, bearing right and a little toward Moja. "The rest of us will distract the dragon." Distract. Ah, what a good word for it. Vincent glances toward Kail for a brief moment, as if attempting to gauge his reaction to attacking Moja. To him, he adds, "Go with the others." he orders, indicating the three man SeeD Squad. Then, he focuses entirely back to Moja, watching cautiously for movement.

The three man team and Kail will have their hands full with their attackers. The dead using living as shields, some even as appendages as one rather gruesome creature, a grat, is all but a husk of a monster. Half of it's appendages have fallen off, half-sliding against the floor, one of its 'arms' wrapped about one of the poor fellows that got caught yesterday. The other 'arm' fails, willing to smack at whoever gets close that isn't slimed, or attacking. The others are not as bad off, though the healthy ones seem to have gained their weapons. A couple of sword wielders, though the last seems to have a gun that is, fortunately for the rescueers, gunked nicely. So instead, it's used as a blunt club, to work against the team sent against them. Though not completely behind their companions, shots against the dead ones behind them will be difficult, as clawy, gook-covered hands move to take down those that are subdued, and to rid the party of their precious oxygen gear.

Kail is hardly without his own defenses, on the other hand. Checking one more time to be sure his mask is securely in place, he nods to Vincent...but glances at Moja one more time, hand tightening around his staff. "All right," he mutters darkly, and turns towards the wall of slimed people. "If I know any of you," he manages, "I hope you're alive to forgive me later." His eyes narrow and with that he lays into the line of people with his staff, using his longer reach and larger blocking area as best as he can, trying to clear a way, hoping the other SeeD give him a hand...something begins building dangerously inside Kail as he finds himself fighting his own fellow Garden-residents.

Moja's sudden increase in size is definately noticable, and so are those largish fangs. At Vincent's decision, Irvine twists to face her, the gun aimed not for the head, but... well, she's a bit bigger then the last time he saw her and helped cripple her. No, better to get out of the way first and promptly attempts to do so. He remembers her fireballs all too well, and if she's suddenly that large, that means she's probably about to fire of one hell of a breath weapon. Besides, he's minus his usual duster tonight, after all, which means all the less protection. Slipping in the muck as he tries to stop himself, he slides into place, the Valiant aimed even as he somehow manages to come to a halt (as far off to the side as he can get to move himself out of immediate harm's way. Or so he hopes). Through the detachment of the void, his finger pulls the trigger without hesitation, aiming for the dragon's hindlegs. For Kail, he doesn't go for any kind of kill.

Laguna does as ordered with a steady trigger finger and in a position with good maneuverability. As he spots the giant with wings, he notes what was ordered and fires shots close to the ferocious monster, not at. He doesn't know Moja personally and doesn't really know the relationship to anyone he's working with right now. Noting Irvine's decision in moving, he does the same and maybe grabbing the dragon's attention, just like it was planned. . o 0(Where the hell are Raine and Squall?) Irritating, at the least.

Moja roars and flares her wings out as much as the space she's in will allow, slime from her muzzle dripping onto the floor beneath her massive body. Her chest inflates as she takes in a deep breath then holds it. More smoke waifts from her nostrils, out of the thin layer of ooze covering them, as she prepares to lash out with her most powerful attack. She doesn't fire out a blast yet, though. Instead, she patiently waits for the humans to move closer. Vincent's words fall on deaf ears. She doesn't seem to even pay attention to them, or him, instead scooting herself back closer to the pool with an angry snarl. The bullet fired by Irvine tears through the scales on her leg, but all it does is cause her to bare her fangs in agitation at both him and Laguna. Oh yes. These tiny humans will fry.

As Sandra stands there, energy taking shape in her hand for several seconds, she looks out...not at the battle itself, but at the ceiling. The ceiling just in front of Moja and above her catches Sandra's attention, and her eyes go cold and calculating as she considers in her mind. After a few moments, she leans forward and, not using the energy in her hand as of yet, she blows gently towards that ceiling. A current of ghastly cold vapor flows from her barely parted lips and touches that section of ceiling, with a noticeable ridge of mirror-smooth ice perpendicular to the line between Sandra and Moja. That done, Sandra rears back, energy in both of her hands, and quickly thrusts her hands forward, letting a wide but not so concentrated blast of icy power strike the ridge. The result is, the ridge expands, stretching downwards and outwards to either side. It collects into a large wall, separating Moja from the bulk of the friendly forces...keeping them from attacking her as well, but probably a fair trade.

From the sludge there is a rippling of the slime before a dark head raises out of the ooze slowly. Brown hair is stick with the slime and making it smooth and so dark it looks black. The thick and slime saturated hair falls down to frame a very pale womans face...the skin appearing even paler against the dark hair and dark eyes that seem nulled of any emotion or indication of life. Once her mouth emerges, it opens to gasp for air in a large gulp...though it ends up not being as successful and a loud rasping noise is made as her airway is blocked mostly by the ooze that had slid down her throat once her mouth was opened. She only raises out of the goo so that shes only clearly visible from the collar up. That nasty stuff covering her face, bare neck and shoulders, and the once gray tank top she wears is darker, soaked with that sludge she was just submerged in for god only knows how long. She remains there, just watching, giving no clue as to what she will do next.

Vincent pauses as the wall of ice sends a distinct chill through his area. He's fairly close to the wall and... fights not to get beyond it. No, he backs /up/, and quickly, as if anticipating what would happen if it took the brunt of a firey breath. Meanwhile, nearer the sludge pit, the flamethrower expert has begun to aim for a portion of the human wall that Kail is currently not engaged in, likely including the grat to his consideration. This before the 'wall' is totally reached, which goes to show the (hopeful) wisdom of bringing along a spread weapon. His features grim, the young SeeD releases his hold on the switch adding gas to the flame. With a loud *fwoosh* in that area, the gases ignite and send a controlled stream in hopes of sending the creatures away. THe flame is not left on more than a beat of two seconds -he's not trying to kill those still alive, but chase them out of his and the bomb team's path while they seek to circle around the shield of bodies behind the progress of the flamethrower man.

Even though they are controlled.... they haven't lost their survival instincts. At least, those that are alive enough to think of saving their own slime-covered skin. The two that are not so inclined to stop their accent are caught within the wash of flame. It catches to the goopy outer skin and ignites.... though for the poor team that's there, they're going to have a hard time seeing. The smell was bad enough as it was, but the smoke, added with the stench from before is enough to water the eyes. At least the tactic was enough to move the living from the dead. However, one advances on Kail, gun risen in a slow arch to strike the SeeD, since trying to use the weapon in the conventional way is all but lost.

Kail 's mask is caught by a clawing hand that he barely dodges and thwacks with his staff, and is pulled out of alignment. Kail has always prided himself on having a strong nose from being raised around dead fish, but smoke added with the smell causes him to wince and cough like mad, hand reaching up to fix the mask as fast as possible...leaving him open to being struck, the butt of the gun cracking hard across his left arm. Unfortunately, his left was also the one attempting to fix the mask, and before he can get it back in place the arm goes momentarily numb and drops. Forcing his eyes open, Kail takes a step back and quickly moves the mask with his right, but when he returns to the battle his equilibrium is more than a bit set off.

The ice wall is unexpected, though you wouldn't know it from the way Irvine reacts. Still firmly entrenched in his void, he merely lowers the gun, not seeking to shatter the barrier Sandra's just erected between Moja and himself, Laguna and Vincent. It remains to be seen, however, just how long that wall is going to last. Ice melts and Moja has the firey breath to do just that. Unfortunately, the sharpshooter really can't do much but wait at this point, stepping back as he sees Vincent do so. He hasn't considered the consequences of what might occur should the dragon use her breath weapon, but caution is the better part of valor.

The wall of ice is reason enough to stop firing. Seeing the others wait, Laguna can't do much but do the same. Ever have a coincidental thought in your mind and the real occurs? That's what Laguna would be experiencing as the thought of Raine nearby gives him goosebumps. This would be a chance to save her from all of this and act as a knight. Although Julia was the one with the fascination, it's also exciting thinking about it. Just like his previous movie. En Garde!

Moja growls and rears back as the ice wall comes too close for comfort, her tail lashing around as some of the goo goes splattering to the floor in puddles. More smoke fogs the area around her head as a strange glow illuminates her silver eyes, separating them from the dark cloud engulfing her face. There's a flash of red as fire pours fourth from her open maw, accompanied by a room-shaking roar, covering the area near her with its blistering heat. Problem, however. The fire's really close to that wall of ice.

        WHOOSH! The blast of flaming death from Moja's mouth flies towards the melee of slime soldier and Garden trooper, but as she sweeps her head around, she blasts part of the wall with searing fire as well. Magical ice or not, it goes up in just moments, superheated steam jetting forth away from Moja. Whoever is near to that side of Vincent's group may well be hit by scalding steam...better that than the fire blast, though! It's fortunate that Kail's team was moving to one side, because where Moja is standing, most of the steam is going -between- the two groups. At any rate, the wall is only half there when the blast is complete, melting and dripping into the slime.

        Sandra herself lowers her arms, staring at the ceiling and it's near immediate incineration...yet it did what it was supposed to, and she smirks a bit before groaning and collapsing to her knees in exhaustion.

Raine raises further from the sludge before she moves to an edge of the pool and begins to pull herself out and stands there. Her gaze shifts from Moja then toward the others in the room. Woooo she looks so threatening. o.o The last 4 of goo-crew wait until the fire clears before moving toward the intruders that were aimed at by the blast. Their thought to stop them...eh...two are evened armed. One with a whip and the other with a staff. Raine follows them to help push back or de-mask anyone that she gets close enough to.

Emboldened by the fact that so many of the living clear the way for the flamethrower, the man wielding it puts in a little more gas, in hopes of taking out those that aren't quite so savagable, but still the danger to his party. One of the bomb team glances at Kail and hesitates, almost as if wishing to help the man, but his companion makes certain that no one strays off task - at least on their part. They move forward quickly, hoping to make it through the break and around. Their work will take a few more moments, with the flames of the 'thrower protecting... hopefully, they'll get through with minimal difficulties. Out of kits they extract thick gloves one uses to mess with sewage, matching hip boots of the same material. Guess who's going wading? Though the bombs (two set up) will be set together before Going In. Vincent... isn't so lucky. Though he was wise to back up from the wall before the flames struck, he is nevertheless caught as the steam rushes forward. Quick sweeps of the cloak are made to wrap around the bare expanse of his right arm - to bring it up also and shield from the worst as he ducks down within the makeshift barrier of cloth. Steam engulfs him still and obscures him from sight - though lessened, it must till burn as it circles around, mm? Indeed it does, but he moves neither back nor forward, nor does he make a sound. He'll come up, once the worse of the steam passes, aiming for Moja's feet, to open fire with a pistol as powerful as some shotguns. All hail the magnum.

Keeping to the plan is helping the group that was being being assaulted by the half dozen warriors, humand and not. And it doesn't help the bad guys that Moja has all but incinerated the area. Slime upon the floor and the ones that were continuing toward the trio are crisply burned, leaving no hope of resurrection in any shape or fashion. Even the other three that do remain are stalled from their attack, two cut off from the SeeDs, the third that was attacking Kail trying to keep from ending up like his less fortunate brethen. A rasping breath, almost in fear of being caught against the wealth of heat and fire that nearly burns the slime away from the floor completely is enough to cause him to pause. There is also the steam that wafts -- it was hard enough for the being to breathe as it was. There's a moment of indecision, gun raised to cause another blow to the staff-wielder, but a rasping moment to get in the precious air that lets this hardly devoured minion continue is taken.... and could be its last mistake.

The fire passes nearby and overhead, the sheer heat leaving a good deal of Kail's exposed skin slightly singed. He doesn't have any trouble breathing within the steam, thanks to the mask, but he begins to sweat profusely, droplets streaming down the sides of his face. He sees some of his teammates beginning to get their job done as he tries to keep in position. The gun raises again and stops for a second, and wrenching himself free of the haze that surrounds him Kail leaps into action, staff lashing out at the offending weapon as his leg sweeps, trying to knock the slimed SeeD's legs out from under him and allow Kail and the others further passage forward.

The void hold is always tenuous in these first times he's tried it since the Kefka assassination, and it most certainly doesn't hold up to this. Seeing Vincent dive toward the ground, Irvine's eyes go wide and he doesn't waste much time in doing the same, suddenly rather aware that his duster is somewhere upstairs needing a good cleaning after getting gunked by Selphie in 'zombie' form. What lovely timing. He tucks himself into a ball, trying to protect himself from the onslaught of billowing steam, gritting teeth against the white hot kiss of Shiva's evaporated ice shield against his flesh. Ok, now he's -pissed-. Forcing himself to roll over as soon as actually possible, he lifts the Valiant but suddenly finds himself unable to even target anything, the mask hazed over by misty, frosty film. Kinda like when you're in a car and the windows fog up.

A figure grabs the President's attention away from the battle for a split second. Before he can do anything, the steam covers him and he's forced to his knees in pain. After awhile of letting it soothe, he raises his head to look straight at Raine. He's the closest by her and his mask is ripped off from her grasp. The other two circle him and begin to grapple him as he's down. For a last chance, Laguna screams at his highest for back up. "Help!"

Moja roar-screeches as the bullets tear through her scales to the flesh underneath, actually ripping off a few of the onyx-colored scales, sending then falling to the floor to land in the goo beneath her. She lowers her head to study the wound, silver eyes only things visible in the muck covering her face. "Hissss...." Her eyes narrow as that thick, whiplike tail of hers comes lashing around to slam into Vincent, and whoever happens to be in his area. That shot -hurt-. Since pain is not an emotion she feels often when in this form, it gets transferred over to something else. Anger. And an angry, possessed dragon is not a good thing to be around.

        From her position on the ground, on her knees, Sandra isn't actually in a position to get hit by much of the steam. What does hit her--mostly deflected off of others--barely brushes her skin and turns an angry red almost instantly She lets out a choked shriek, cut off by her biting her own tongue as she hugs herself, holding onto her scalded arms. A moment later, she looks up, her usually cold or impassive face suffused into an angry glare, and her eyes lock onto that dragon with deadly intent. It seems to say that the games and the capturing objective are long gone...
        Sandra stands up, wobbling a bit as she gets to her feet, and stopping a moment as one foot slides to one side, nearly dumping her back in the muck. Her dress from the knees down is ruined, her entire body is covered in water from condensed steam, soaking her, and from the gaze in her eyes, it looks like the only thing she cares about is that scaled thing over yonder.

Raine, along with the two holding Laguna, did grimace as they stepped through the aftermath of the steam blast...and seem to be less smothered in that ooze...since some of it had dried up slightly. Raine drops the mask in her hands over her shoulder as she tilts her head and looks down at Laguna. She then turns her head, noticing one of the last of the other sludge covered people lingering back. They begin reaching out for the member of the bomb team armed with the flame thrower. Raine continues walking closer, focused to help stop the men before they get a chance to place the bomb.

The bomb team have set up the explosives... But now, they have to wade /through/ the sludge toward the center. Fortunately, they are tall, but still, it's slow going. The man with the flame thrower begins to turn as he's approached, but too quickly! The flame goes out. Sure, he's got the stuff with him to relight, but no time to dig it out, if he's any judge of the distance being closed. A practice flip of the safety on the valve, and sheathing the wand against the rest of the pack, the young man strives to draw the sword at his side, preparing to defend against the creature approaching more physically. He is close to the edge at the moment, and at tricky footing. His eyes squint as he clears them from the acrid effects of the smoke. For now, on the defensive.

        Vincent, meanwhile, is never so lucky. Having to set himself appropiately to keep from losing his footing on the slippery floor during the backshock of the magnum's discharge, the gunman is caught full on the side by the whipping tail. The motion lifts the man bodily for a moment and sends him crashing... then sliding on the very floor he had 'til that point managed to keep his footing on. Only a wall stops his progress - his side slams against it with a harsh sounding thud. Teeth gritted, reddened features from the steam bath, and now unpleasantly lacking in air, the gunman will take a moment to recover from the shock of the hit. Fortunate that he /is/ junctioned currently - but, in the moment of impact, the gun fell from his hand, skittering across the floor several yards off. Bad news. He looks up, quickly trying to orient himself on the situation... Angry dragons aren't the best thing to take one's ttention from. Especially when they're specifically angry toward you.

It seems that for every bad thing there's a good thing. At least in small favors and occurances. The one minion that had been attacking Kail is downed, slime covered body thudding once against a spot in the floor that had been caked in grime. It is enough, at least to keep him down. But the other two notice that the one with the flamethrower is suddenly reduced to hand to hand combat -- this finally allows them to attack. But at least the man is not alone, though the gait of the last two is slowed significantly. The sludge that had been touched by flame and slime has nearly solidified in some spots, and burned off in others. It allows the blistered skin of those that are still living to be seen, the rasp breathing that escapes the two that advance on the area once separated by ice and flamethrower. There isn't much that is keeping from from their objective in taking some of these people and refilling their ranks. Even the body recently and temporarily incapcitated twitches, the creature that controls them all now moving for more desperate and all encompassing measures to subdue or slay... whichever one will preserve its hide for another day.

Kail pants for a couple seconds before vaulting over the downed man, hoping he gets proper care...assuming they get everyone out of this. Charging forwards, he runs straight at his two remaining enemies in hopes of ramming them over, staff held horizontally. They reach up and...catch it. Not good. Grabbing and pushing back, they keep Kail's charge from attaining velocity...and to avoid crashing hard into his own staff, he flips like an acrobat, swinging around the staff and landing a bit crouched, staff still gripped tightly. Rather than looking behind him or seeking to extricate it, however, he just hangs onto the staff and pulls down and forward as hard as he can.

Though it's probably the stupidest thing Irvine's done all night, he rips the mask off his face (after taking a deep breath), swiping gloved knuckles over the mist within to get rid of it. Quickly refitting it, he hears Laguna's call for help and scrambles to his feet, heedless of the slime that's now coating half his body or the angry red burn streaks from that unexpected steam bath. Not wanting to hurt Raine, or accidently shoot her (or Laguna for that matter), the marksman rushes toward the hapless president, cracking the butt of the Valiant at the first zombie after Laguna. Lucky for him he had made this sudden dart forward, thusly missing the swat of the dragon's tail, though he does catch Vincent's flight through the air. Unfortunately, momentum continues to carry him forward with his original attack, unable to aid the other gunman for the moment.

Having the chance to get on his feet with the help from Irvine, Laguna focuses on Raine's direction and lunges at her with arms wrapped around her waist in an attempt to subdue her, without his mask. "Raine, wake up!", is all he manages from his lack of oxygen. His gun is also on the floor back where he was brought down. There is much thanks to Irvine for what he's done, but now he may still have to succumb time in the infirmary for his stubbornness. Would he had time to get his mask and stop Raine from attempting to corrupt the bomb team? It was a hasty decision, but perhaps the only one he had in mind.

Moja glares down at Vincent, muzzle opening as wide as her jaw muscles will allow, letting out a gurgling hiss, spit mixed with the black goo splattering onto the floor below. With movement as graceful and sleek as a panther's she whips her neck forward, growling as those fang-filled jaws close in on the downed Vincent. Her tail continues to lash about as if it had a mind of its own, and those close to it would be wise to duck or leap out of its way. Either that, or get slammed down by the thick appendage.

        Apparently not in the mood to play further games, Sandra wobbles a bit further, trying to find purchase with the floor, and stands back onto her feet. It's help if she were wearing footwear designed for this sort of thing. But she ignores that problem for the time being and focues on Big and Scaly, the main reason her side hasn't won yet, as far as she's concerned. She stands tall, arms crossing in front of her, hands over the opposite shoulders, as she lowers her head a bit, to stare at Moja from just underneath her blue brows. At first, absolutely nothing happens. But ever, ever so slightly, a pinpoint of light begins to form, pulsating in time with Sandra's heartbeat, growing bigger and bigger as wispy waves of ice condense in air and flow to be absorbed by it. When it reaches the size of perhaps a golf ball, it begins moving slowly forward, straight towards Moja, picking up speed gradually as it goes, but still not moving very fast. As it leaves on its way, Sandra groans again, unsteady on her feet, and as her eyelids close, she crumples to the ground, splashing ooze slightly. She's not unconscious, strictly, but not really in shape to go anywhere for a while. Maybe it'll be nice to take a...nice...rest...

The minion approaching the bomb team, steps in front of the once flame-thrower armed man and stands for a moment...turning his wrist to get a better grip on the whip in his hand (Which was mentioned earlier but not clarified when he approached. Sorry. x.x). He pulls back that arm then bringing it down to strike the whip in a movement to cause the whip to tangle around the sword the other man is wielding. The one Irvine hits one zombie, it jerks with the blow and slumps to the ground from the blow. The other zombie that was holding Laguna turned it's attention to the heroic cowboy...releasing it's hold on Laguna to grasp at Irvine's weapon and his hands.

Lagunas effort to stop Raine works and she does in fact stop advancing as his arms wrap around her waist. She turns easily, the slime that is still on her body, preventing Laguna from getting an extremely firm grip on her. She only moves till he's at one side of her and she tilts her head to look down at him. A bit of the slime drips down from her shoulders and arms to fall down on him as she stares down at him with that eerie expression. Her mouth open and that heavy breathing doesn't actually make the sight any easier to take either. He can call out all he likes...but this isn't something she can just 'wake up' from. One of her slimed hands reach down to his face...her fingers brushing over one of his cheeks before she places the palm flat over his forehead and pushes it back. She turns more and the other hand moves to his shoulder and adds more pressure to push Laguna away from her...and getting lots of that slime on his face at the same time. Ewwww.

And that's just what Vincent is able to orient on - huge, gaping jaws coming down to take a bite out of his body. His muscles tense, as his body reacts faster than his concious thoughts. With an inhuman grace born of nature and adrenaline, the man is to his feet and pushing away from the wall - and the jaws of death. Still yet, the gunman's activities may not wholly save him - he was stunned after all. Better the nip than the chomp? Or something to that effect.
        The guys making their way toward the center of the slime pit draw to a halt to keep their balance for a moment, blathering away at some sight or another they get to view now that they're closer to the center of it all. Of course, impossible to hear over all the noise, but still that's what they're doing. The bombs are being placed, they guys are beginning to move out as the waterproof casings sink into the sludge. At this point, earlier in the evening, the gathering would have about five... maybe ten minutes to get out of the room. Further should not be nescessary, but there /is/ the small matter of the dragon, Raine, and a few of the other folks. The flamethrower man has his weapon tangled by the whip, but has the wits to set himself and attempt to pull tight, then create slack in the whip line, hoping to beat out the attacker's speed with his own actions to be once more free.

Kail has connected.

The last two figures near the advance flamethrower team are actually taken off their feet by Kail's rush, sliding across the floor in a haphazard passage, unable to gain purchace with their slickened bodies. Whoever they take out before they come to a skidding halt against the ice wall is anyone's guess, be it friend or foe... but there is a interesting reaction. The ice begins to chill the sludge, to hold them still for just a moment longer than they would have expected, though they still fight to reorient themselves back to their feet.

Kail pants as his friends-turned-enemies are sent flying away, then goes after them to give the bomb guys cover as they begin to exit, staff settling into a defensive position. Adrenaline combined with sheer ticked-offedness is starting to run high, however, and it looks like it's not long until Kail ends up doing something he may regret. He rolls his shoulders and waits for the inevitable onslaught as Slimy here realizes he's just won a lovely new set of matching explosive devices and a free one-way trip back to wherever the heck he came from!

Though Irvine's slightly miffed by Laguna's seemingly irresponsible actions, he somewhat understands. If the tables were turned and that was him going after Selphie... who's to say he'd have done anything differently? The second Laguna's out of the way, however, he jerks himself back from the zombie trying for -his- precious Valiant. "Mine," is said in a muffled tone, and the gun is thusly lifted. He hesitates briefly, recognizing the red, tattered shirt beneath the oozing slime. "Ailanya?" No recognition from the zombie, who's so decayed at this point, that nothing remains but tattered flesh attached to emaciated bones and muted red-gold hair clinging in patches from a half exposed skull. Sickened, he steels himself for the blast and promptly fires at point blank range, hopefully euthanizing his former classmate.
"I'm so sorry. Forgive me," he says hoarsely, turning then toward Laguna and Raine.

As he's pushed down, Laguna lands flat on the ooze on the floor, face down, watching Raine slip through his fingers, literally. When he gains his balance on the slimy floor, he gradually crawls back to where he fell, underneath all the fuss above him and retrieves his mask and gun. Yeah, that was a stupid plan. Who the hell is going to try and get her and him out of this mess after it's close to being over? He manages to crawl back to Raine, while masked, and attempt to grab her again. This time from behind and a sweep into his arms with out slipping on his behind. This is all new to him and doesn't know if it's too late for her like it is for the rest. At any rate, this is his love in life and won't let her go, without hesitation. If Squall's down here, hopefully he is saved by another as well. Laguna only has two hands, after all. He can only prepare a fuss from Raine in his arms as he turns and gets her as close to the entrance as possible.

Moja's jaws hit only air just as that ice ball of Sandra's smacks her right in the face. The sudden chill causes her to pause and stumble back a little, hissing angrily, as the black goo continues to hang in globs from her body. shaking her head she readies another burst of flame...to find out that the ice orb was more than it appears to be. All she can get out is a few puffs of smoke, which serves to only make her madder. Wings flared, stomping her massive paws, the dragon bellow-gurgles out her fury. After her temper tantrun settles down a bit, she shifts down into her half-dragon form, thinking maybe that'll bring her flame back...

Raine manages to take a few steps before Laguna comes up from behind and sweeps her off her feet to carry her off. Though she doesn't look surprised, but a hand does lash at his face in protest, scratching at the side of Laguna's face. With a grimace he shifts her in his grasp so she's over his shoulder. He loves her but doesn't like her clawing at his face. o.o He takes her out of the area and will worry about the slime covering his attire later.
The guy armed with the whip might be armed, but he's lacking the strength to have much control with the weapon and the swordsmans attempt to free himself happens when he actually rips the whip from the other man's grasp. Easy isn't it? As for Ailanya...well now she can't prance around in front of Irvine and Selphie getting him in trouble for gossiping with Selphie. Yeah we all know that's why he was so hastily to pull the trigger. o.-

Making a long story short! The bomb team is out of the sludge, yelling that things are set to blow, blow, blow! And Vincent, propelled forward as he is now by moving out of the way of Moja's jaws, slides ever so much until he comes in contact with the wall and uses it to gain that footing he needs to propell himself at Moja, intending to tackle her. /He/ is still running on adrenaline. His gun? It'll be remembered on the way out, especially now that he hears the warning shouts. The more important thing is to make sure that Moja doesn't transform into something worse.

The shouts from the bomb team are heard, and those that had been using bombs and the flamethrower to get rid of the worse of the slime covered minions move in due haste. The three that were caputured a day before are picked up by their companions, before they begin to make their escape out. Hang sitting in here.... a bomb's gonna blow. Whatever few minions that are left, the truly dead ones, try to make their way back toward the pool of slime..... they might make it in time just for the thing to detonate.

Kail brings his staff up as the bomb guys scoop up their friends and run, and starts to move himself...when he stops, remembering something he'd heard in floating around Garden. He turns back towards the slime pool abruptly, skidding a little bit on the cold and slippery ground, one more thing finally tipping Kail's tense balance. Is this all of the creatures left? Because if it's just truly dead and monsters, then...."SQUALL!" he shouts, looking out at the slime pool. "COMMANDER!" There's a short glow as Kail's staff begins to change until it's nearly invisible...or perhaps just glassy.

Racing after Laguna and Raine, Irvine pauses to help Sandra to her feet again, even support her if it were needed, hell, carry her since she seems to be fairly bad off. I mean, who purposefully -stays- lying in that slime willingly? (Don't answer that.) You'd think he'd learn after the last time he helped her up, but hey, it's the heat of battle and he just had to blow away someone he used to flirt with all the way back at -Galbadia-. (Jeez, that slime thing's been here a long time.) He's not terribly coherant and the flight portion of the 'fight or flight' instinct has kicked in. Fortunately, that instinct isn't totally self serving. It includes his comrades, and though he's got one hell of a phobia regarding Sandra's real nature, there's no real time to even think about it. He's heard the shouts regarding soon to be explosive activity. Time to go!

Moja turns, hissing, as that psychopathic tail of hers whips around. Six feet of pure disaster it is, and heading straight for Vincent like a snake on crack. As she flares out her wings, goo splatters onto the floor, then towards the guy charging her as she flaps them at him. As her tail takes care of him she turns, blinking as she catches the shouts from those near the pool. And angry shriek-gurgle escapes her throat and she begins to move in the direction of the pool.



(Unfortunately, my cable modem decided it no longer wanted to work at this point and thusly, to my chagrin, the log doth end here.)